In a surprising Wednesday afternoon announcement, St. John’s Military School will close its doors at the end of the 2018-19 academic school year.

The school, located in north Salina at 110 W. Otis Ave., had been open since 1888. The school cited rising costs and lower enrollment for the closure.

Colonel William Clark tells KSAL News that St. John’s Military School will continue to operate through the remainder of the current school year. Daily routines will be maintained, and the education and leadership opportunities offered to our cadets will remain robust.

Here is the official announcement from the school website below:

“With heavy hearts, the Board of Trustees announces that the 131st Corps of Cadets, will be the last at St. John’s Military School; the school will not reopen after the current year. St. John’s will continue to operate through May 11 culminating with a celebration of its rich history during Commencement Weekend. Until that time, the education and leadership opportunities offered to cadets will remain robust and daily routines will be maintained.

Considerable research, thought, contemplation, discussion, and prayer has factored into this
arduous decision. For over 131 years, St. John’s has been a school dedicated to helping young men grow spiritually, morally, intellectually, and physically in a safe environment.

For several years, school leaders have sought to sustain St. John’s through a variety of strategies. However, the landscape of education has changed dramatically resulting in lower enrollment and unsustainable higher costs of operations. This, combined with St. John’s having unfairly become a target for legal cases and negatively biased and misleading portrayals by some media outlets, has created an insurmountable situation that school leaders have been unable to overcome.

The Board of Trustees has chosen to make this difficult decision and announcement now in order to allow current families and staff as much time as possible to make alternative plans for the next school year. Programs are in place to offer as much assistance as possible to families placing sons in other schools, as well as assisting staff and faculty in seeking future employment.

The school will continue to update the St. John’s Family and public as more information becomes available.”